The present invention relates to sculptured textile substrates, and specifically pile fabrics, and to a process for producing such fabrics. More particularly, the present invention relates to a sculpturing process wherein the tensile strength of the fibers comprising the areas of the fabric to be sculptured is reduced so that the pile may be more easily removed in those selected areas by mechanical means. The process further includes a color wash or dye treatment that may be applied to the fabric to enhance the visual impact of the sculptured areas and, where necessary, eliminate any undesired bleached effect often seen in areas adjacent to the sculptured areas as a result of the sculpturing process.
In the production of pile fabrics, it is often desirable to provide a sculptured effect on the surface thereof in order to enhance the decorative appeal. Several techniques have been used to create such a sculptured surface, although none of these techniques has been completely satisfactory.
One of the early attempts to achieve such a sculptured effect was by means of a heated embossing roll or plate which has been engraved or otherwise treated to create a desired design in raised relief on the surface of the pile fabric. When using a heated embossing roll, depth is created by the partial or complete melting of the embossed areas. However, fibers may lose their individual integrity and become bonded together, thereby often making the feel or hand of the embossed areas harsh and undesirable. More recent embossing techniques have not been completely successful in, overcoming these problems.
Other sculpturing methods that utilize chemical means to shrink the fibers are known. Those processes that employ a chemical shrinking agent to create the embossed areas have been generally unsatisfactory because the embossed areas tend to have a harsh and undesirable hand.
An alternative method of creating a sculptured fabric uses chemicals to dissolve, completely or partially, those fibers that come into contact with the chemical solution. Use of solvents to dissolve fibers in selected areas has been largely unsuccessful since the solvent may destroy the entire pile length in the areas to be embossed, thereby exposing the backing of the fabric, which may not be desired. Even if total dissolution of the pile is avoided, fiber integrity may be compromised and a harsh, undesirable hand may be the inevitable result.
A satisfactory sculpturing process is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,845 to McBride et al., which is herein incorporated, in its entirety, by reference. The process involves the selective carving of a pile fabric with a chemical fiber-degrading agent that may be incorporated as part of the fabric dyeing process. The pile fabric is then finished by heating, neutralizing the degrading agent, washing, and drying. Finally, the degraded fibers are removed by mechanical means to provide a sculptured pile fabric. Because the fiber-degrading agent is known to attack the dye components in areas adjacent to the sculptured portions as well as the areas to which it is directly applied, the resulting sculptured fabric made by this prior art process frequently has bleached xe2x80x9chalo areasxe2x80x9d immediately adjacent to the sculptured regions. When viewed from a distance, these halo areas can be more apparent than the textured portion of the sculptured fabric, thereby degrading the overall appearance of the patterned area. A method to make these halo areas visually less prominent, or eliminate them entirely, has heretofore been unknown.
The present invention provides such a method, which comprises applying a dilute dye solution over the entire substrate surface, thereby coloring both the sculptured portions and the non-sculptured portions, but to a different degree. The sculptured areas tend to be more receptive to this application of dilute dye than the non-sculptured areas. Somewhat surprisingly, the non-sculptured areas immediately adjacent to the sculptured areas tend to have an intermediate affinity for the dilute dye, i.e., the relative concentration of dye is greatest in the sculptured areas, least in the central regions of non-sculptured areas, and intermediate in those non-sculptured xe2x80x9cboundary areasxe2x80x9d immediately adjacent to the sculptured areas. The result of this overall dyeing step is a dramatic reduction in the visual prominence of any xe2x80x9chalosxe2x80x9d surrounding the sculptured areas. Additionally, this step has the unexpected effect of giving the appearance of a greater depth of sculpturing to the finished sculptured pile fabric. For these reasons, the present invention represents a useful advancement over the prior art. It should be noted that, as used herein, the term xe2x80x9cfabricxe2x80x9d is used in a broad sense, and is intended to include carpets and rugs, in addition to upholstery fabrics and the like.
The present invention provides a sculptured pile fabric having both a printed pattern and a sculptured surface of various pile heights. The fabric of the present invention has improved aesthetic qualities as compared with sculptured products of the prior art. This improved sculptured fabric is the result of a chemical sculpting method, in which the height of the pile surface is selectively reduced in a pattern configuration, that is followed by an overall dyeing process involving the application of a dilute dye solution. This xe2x80x9cdilutexe2x80x9d dyeing process is similar to that used to xe2x80x9ctea stainxe2x80x9d textile products, wherein an overall shade is imparted to a textile by the use of a relatively dilute (low concentration) dyestuff. The resulting sculptured product has an appearance that emphasizes the sculptured areas, making the sculptured areas appear to have greater depth, especially when viewed at a distance.